There has been a lot of consternation in recent months about the state of Farmington's municipal liquor stores. Profits at the two stores have been smaller than anyone would like. The stores' profits trailed well behind the numbers turned in by other area municipal liquor stores, and people both on the city council and in the community were looking for change. Some called for the stores to close altogether, for the city to turn liquor operations in the city over to private operations.

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The city isn't ready to turn over an operation that could potentially generate money for its bottom line, but change is certainly in the works. Longtime manager Randy Petrofske is gone, for one thing, and a new advisory panel is in place to help guide operations.

So far the changes seem to be off to a good start. The city may have hired a new manager for the stores by the time this issue of the Independent reaches readers, and that advisory panel is in place and ready to provide another fresh perspective.

We weren't sure what to make of that advisory panel when it was first introduced, but we are encouraged by what we have seen so far. The panel had its first meeting recently, and by all accounts things went well.

We were not there for the meeting, but the makeup of the group is impressive. Several of the members have shown they know how to run successful businesses both long-term and in the current challenging business climate. They should be able to provide valuable insight to whoever is hired to run the stores.

None of this is a guarantee the city's liquor stores will immediately turn things around and start to show big profits. But they are signs the city is taking the right steps to make that success more likely.